welcome to bbc news, i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: a record single—day increase in coronavirus infections around the world. nearly 260,000 new cases are registered in 2a hours. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country interfered in british politics or tried to steal vaccine research. i don't believe in this story at all. there is no sense in it. us presidents from across the political divide pay tribute tojohn lewis, an iconic figure of the american civil rights movement. and prosecutors believe a fire at the cathedral in the french city of nantes may have been started deliberately.

the number of global coronavirus cases has seen a record single—day increase. the world health organization says nearly 260,000 new cases have been recorded in 2a hours, the highest ever daily increase. while western europe and east asia have largely managed to contain covid—19, the picture elsewhere is bleak. in brazil and the us, where lockdown measures are patchy, there is little sign of the curve being flattened, and scientists say india, which has the world's third—biggest outbreak, could be months away from reaching a peak. earlier, my colleague paul hawkins told me more about he latest findings. in the us, 71,000 new daily cases. 41 states out of 50 are seeing rising numbers of confirmed cases, the biggest rises

in southern and western states. so we're talking about places like arizona, california, texas and florida. speaking of which, one startling fact from the week that'sjust gone in florida — they reported more new coronavirus cases in a 24—hour period than the entire european union, which is startling when you think 21 million people live in florida, a50 million people live in the european union. it seems to be that the way the country is fighting the virus appears to be highly politicised, as well. you're way more likely to wear a mask if you're a democrat that if you're a republican. you've got the governor of georgia suing the mayor of the state capital, atlanta, over lockdown measures. so it's highly politicised, and then you've got president trump not ordering people to wear facemasks, deliberately contradicting the top infectious diseases experts in the states there. likewise, you have his top ally, brazilian president jair

bolsonaro — total infections past 2 million and 16,000 new daily cases. it took four months to reach a million cases and just less than a month to reach 2 million cases, so a fast increase there. the world health organization, though, does say infections have plateaued, and they're saying there's an opportunity there to bring the virus under control. 0k, well, let's move on. that's the us and brazil. let's take a look at india — look at that, 35,000 new daily cases. what's happening in india? yes, so scientists say the country could be months away from reaching a peak. the pandemic here was slow to start. they had a two—month lockdown to begin with, then they lifted it early on in the pandemic, then the number of cases started to soar. if there's one silver lining for india, it's that the death rate seems to be quite low. it's eighth in the world for overall deaths, but when you break that down per million, it's14.3, which is relatively low. and then finally, we mentioned south africa —

13,000 new daily cases. the daily death toll there, it's headed past 4,000. they've reintroduced a national lockdown, a nighttime curfew, ban on sales of alcohol, and all south africans have to wear masks. so in south africa, they're going for the national lockdown, but in places like india, brazil, the us, it's still patchy, regional lockdowns. the russian ambassador to the uk has flatly rejected british allegations that his country's intelligence services have tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research. andrey kelin also denied russia's involvement in last year's general election, and even suggested following russia's referendum on its constitution that cyber—attacks aimed at his country originated in the uk. 0ur correspondent caroline hawley has more. it's an interview for the andrew marr show tomorrow, and it follows accusations from britain, from the us and canada that russian spies, in particular a group of hackers called cozy bear, targeted scientists trying to develop

a coronavirus vaccine. now, andrew marr asked bluntly if russia had been stealing british vaccine research. the ambassador‘s reply was, i don't think so. i don't believe in this story at all. it makes no sense. then, on russian interference in british politics, and we've got that long—awaited parliamentary report into that due to be released this week, again he denies this. he says russia doesn't see any point in interfering. and then andrew marr asks him about the poisoning of former russian double agent sergei skriptal in salisbury. he claims russia doesn't know what happened, and this is what he told andrew marr. we do not see any point of interfering, because for us, whether it be conservative party or labour party at the head of this country, we will try to settle relations and to establish better relations with us over there, either with this or with that.

now, conservative party have won, and we are working on this relationship. i have to mention the commission which is studying the results, they have discovered several cyber attacks also proceeding from the territory of the united kingdom. we do not accuse the united kingdom of what is happening. well, now the russian ambassador also said that russia is prepared to turn a page with relations with the uk. but frankly, relations have now hit a new low, and it's pretty hard to see a page being turned in the current climate. let's get some of the day's other news: european union leaders are to extend negotiations on a covid—i9 recovery plan for their economies into a third day. they are struggling to reach a compromise between wealthier northern countries. a revised package under consideration was for a50 billion euros in grants. talks are due to resume on sunday the authorities in north—east spain have tightened restrictions in an area which was returned to lockdown a week ago.

catalonia is registering more covid—i9 cases than any other region of the country. the surge led to tough new measures being announced on friday. the leaders of france, germany and italy have warned they are ready to consider imposing sanctions against countries who violate a un arms embargo on libya. in a joint statement, they called for all sides to end what they describe as increasing interference in the libyan conflict. twitter has confirmed that hackers made use of tools that were supposed to have only been available to its own staff to carry off wednesday's cyber attack. the breach saw the accounts of barack 0bama, kanye west and bill gates, among other celebrities, used to tweet a bitcoin scam. us presidents past and present from across the political divide have paid tribute to one of the leading figures in the american civil rights movement, john lewis, who has died at the age of 80. he was one of the organisers of the 1963 march on washington where martin luther king made his "i have a dream" speech". rajini vaidya nathan

looks back at his life. john lewis dedicated his life to fighting racism. singing. he marched alongside martin luther king, and lived to see a black president. born in alabama in 1940, john lewis grew up in an america that was deeply segregated. i would come home and ask my mother, ask my father, why segregation? why racial discrimination? they would say "that's the way it is. don't get in the way. don't get in trouble". but dr king inspired me to get in the way, to get in trouble. as a student activist, he became a close ally of dr martin luther king, fighting racial injustice with a message of non—violence. he took part in sit—ins against white—only lunch counters, and was beaten by white mobs as he peacefully

protested segregation on buses. you arrest me, you beat me, you throw me injail, well, what else can you do to me? in 1963, john lewis was the youngest speaker at the march on washington where dr king delivered his famous "i have a dream" speech. looking out over that crowd, i saw hundreds and thousands of young people, fresh from the jails of the south, fresh from the struggle, the frontline, there. we were ready, we were prepared, to go back to the american south and fight the good fight. and so they did, two years later, marching for voting rights for african—americans. they walked from selma to montgomery, alabama, where they were attacked by police. by the 50th anniversary of that march, john lewis had become a politician known as the conscience of the us congress. it is a rare honour

in this life to follow one of your heroes. and john lewis is one of my heroes. and it was barack 0bama who awarded him the presidential medal of freedom, america's highest civilian honour, when he was 70. diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, john lewis was seen at recent protests after the killing of george floyd. we must keep the faith, keep our eyes on the prize. john lewis lived through many chapters of the civil rights movement. his mantra was simple — never give up, never give in. well, earlier i spoke to dr rashawn ray, who is a fellow in governance studies at the brookings institution. i asked him what he made of the many tributes being made following the death ofjohn lewis. i mean, i think that the reaction has been widespread, notjust

in the united states but across the world, and i think it highlights that john lewis was a revolutionary figure. and of course he has several quotes, but one of the ones that i always think about is when he says, "get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of america". and i think that's where we are in this moment, notjust in the united states, but around the world. and i think he's going to be a galvanising light, moving forward to november, to put the united states on a different course. that's so interesting that you quote those words, because we spoke on this programme a few weeks ago about the words of frederick douglass, the abolitionist, of course, anti—slavery reformer. and the famous speech that he gave that still echoes through generations and echoes through time. you just quoted the words there. do you think the words ofjohn lewis will have a similar power? i think so. i mean he's had so many things that he said.

i mean, on voting, for example, i mean, he said, "some of us gave a little blood for the right to participate in the democratic process." so, while some people are thinking about staying home for this 2020 election in the united states, john lewis's words i think will help people get to the polls, and not just get to the polls, but deal with voter suppression, deal with gerrymandering, which were issues that were central to whatjohn lewis was about. and interesting — let's move from his words, then, to his actions. this was fundamentally a brave, brave man. without a doubt. he had been arrested dozens of times. i mean, he had been beaten. he helped to desegregate cities, nashville, tennessee, where he went to college. i'm from murfreesboro, tennessee, which is just a stone's throw away from nashville. he was also one of the original freedom riders. and part of that was he was beaten in bloody sunday, which became known as the movie selma, but it happened in selma,

alabama on the pettus bridge. and that's something that we will never look back on. and i think when we think about john lewis, and the sacrifices he made, it's disrespectful to not vote, it's disrespectful to not use our voices to stand up. and then, of course, we know he was elected to congress in 1988, never looked back, ran opposed a lot of times, and there's something that he did that oftentimes people look over. one of his first bills that he presented was for a museum to highlight the experiences and history of black americans. that became the national museum for african—american history and culture that sits on the national mall, just a few feet away from the washington monument. i mean, he was concerned with kids, he was concerned with what we do about criminaljustice reform, he was concerned with how we provide medical services for underserved communities. and he had a series of honours, from a navy ship to the presidential medal of freedom, to over 50 honorary degrees. and this was a man

that we should honour, and we should aim to hold up his legacy moving forward. yeah, an extraordinary list of accomplishments. i'm interested there, rashawn, you used him and his legacy and his life and what he stood for very much as a call to action right now — as in get out and vote. what do you think of the timing and the significance, if there is any, of his passing when we're right in the middle of this black lives matter movement? well, i would imagine on one hand that he's probably feeling some type of way up in heaven that he passed away while trump was in office. but i also think, just days beforejohn lewis passed away, ct vivian also passed away, who was a civil rights icon as well, who mlk said was the greatest preacher that he had ever heard. and john lewis was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by president barack 0bama in 2011. ct vivian followed in 2013. so when i think about that legacy, moving forward, and the fact that one

of the last images we had ofjohn lewis was him looking at black lives matter plaza, that led to the white house, i think that's a moment that we can all remember. and i think part of this isjohn lewis's words are very, very relevant in this era. when you see something that's not right, not fair, notjust, you have to speak up, you have to say something, you have to do something. when i think about my grandfather, serving in two wars, purple heart, bronze star, he taught me that from birth — that your silence is your acceptance. and we need allies and we need advocates. we need agitators. and part of this is the legacy ofjohn lewis to do what's right and to get into good trouble. you are watching bbc news. the headlines this hour: a record single—day increase in global coronavirus infections, as nearly 260,000 new cases are recorded in 2a hours. russia's ambassador to the uk rejects allegations his country has interfered in british politics or tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research.

tens of thousands of russians have taken to the streets in the far eastern city of khabarovsk to demand the release of the local governor. sergei furgal was arrested on murder charges and flown to moscow last week. protesters claim his arrest was politically motivated. 0ur correspondent steve rosenberg reports. they poured in from across the region. "freedom," they chanted. and, "send him home!" it was one of the largest protests kha barovsk has ever seen. seven time zones east of moscow, they have been taking to the streets for a week now. and he is the reason why. sergei furgal is the local governor. "we are all sergei furgal," he says. he is popular here. more popular, they say, than president putin. but last week he was arrested.

0fficers flew in from moscow, bundled him into a car and flew him back to the capital. he has been charged with involvement in murders dating back 15 years and that has sparked anger in khabarovsk. everybody understands that it is a political case, they have stolen our governor from us, so theyjust took him and everybody feels like we elected him, this was our choice and moscow took him. what is remarkable about these scenes is that in russia unauthorised protests like this are normally broken up. but the police just stood and watched. the russian authorities clearly trying to avoid creating even more anger on the streets. and more resentment at moscow. such a public display of dissent is embarrassing for the kremlin.

president putin likes to portray himself as the man who has given russian stability, but this protest is undermining that image. we did find one man in khabarovsk who is against the protests. the city's mayor. he is from the kremlin‘s party. translation: we have seen certain people going to the protests, shouting the same slogans, acting inappropriately. and they are being paid to do this. there is no evidence of that. all they want is for their governor to be given a fair trial in khabarovsk, but the danger for the kremlin is that, if this continues, a local hero could become a national star. steve rosenberg, bbc news, khabarovsk. here, the transport secretary, grant shapps, has insisted that life could be back to normal

by christmas, as long as people stay alert to the potential threat from coronavirus. scientists had questioned the practicality of the goverment‘s vision, set out by borisjohnson when he announced a further easing of lockdown restrictions in england. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley reports. just a few weeks ago, streets across the uk were deserted. now, in many places, life is starting to pick up. shops, cafes, pubs, all opening again. but coronavirus hasn't gone away. many things will look different for some time. in rochdale, extra precautions are being taken because of concern at the number of new cases. people are being told to limit the number of visitors to their home to just two, and being asked to wear face coverings in shops before it is made mandatory in the rest of england. targeted local action is part of the government's strategy. ministers say if it works, life could return to something

like normal by christmas. it is possible that we can get there, and the prime minister and i and others have spoken about it this week because we want to give people some sense of direction, because a lot of people are running businesses or rely on the christmas period for example, and need to know that if everything goes well, that this is our intention. the government is desperate to avoid another national lockdown because of the huge impact the last one had on the economy. so in england actions will now be targeted, looking at individual areas, communities, even specific premises. from today, local councils in england have new powers to close shops, close public spaces and shut down any events taking place if they think it will help curb the virus. in rochdale, the local council welcomes new powers. but... the thing that we need, apart from getting the same message over time, is some money to cope with all the extra problems

that we're getting. this morning, one of the government's advisers said a return to life like it was before lockdown is a long way off, despite the optimism in government. the view in rochdale... it's not going to be the same, nothing will be the same, shops and stuff, because you have to wear masks. potentially it could. but right now, rochdale isn't good on the covid numbers. the government has warned it won't hesitate to introduce some restrictions again. but it hopes getting on top of local outbreaks could help life return to something more normal sooner rather than later. nick eardley, bbc news. one of bollywood's most famous actresses, aishwarya rai bachchan, has been taken to hospital after testing positive for covid—19 earlier this week. according to reports, she's being treated at a hospital in mumbai. it comes days after her husband and father—in—law were admitted for treatment.

a cuban dissident who pioneered spanish— language broadcasting in miami, martha flores, has died at the age of 92. she died hours after her final broadcast on friday. she had said she would like to be remembered as someone who fought for freedom in cuba until the end. ms flores arrived in the united states in 1959, days after the triumph of the cuban revolution, led by fidel castro. she said she knew mr castro well from his university days, and realised straight away that cuba wouldn't have a bright future with him in charge. french police say a fire in nantes cathedral may have been started deliberately. investigators say the fire started in three different spots, which points to arson. it took around 100 firefighters to bring the blaze under control. it comes a little more than 12 months after the devastating fire at france's most famous cathredal, notre dame. reged ahmad has more. huge, bright orange and red flame seemed to engulf the middle of this ancient

gothic building, as black smoke billows out from between the two towers. it took around 100 firefighters to get the blaze in the historic nantes cathedral under control, but not before it blew out the stained glass windows at the front and completely destroyed the grand organ inside. locals gathered anxiously outside to watch the firefighting effort. this cathedral dates back to the 15th century and took around 500 years to finish building, so it holds a special place in french culture. translation: it was like a nightmare. i wanted it to stop. it wasn't possible for the cathedral again to be burning. we have seen paris, but we have also seen it here. translation: it was really incredible, it's something we never wanted to see,

that we never wanted to experience. firefighters say the damage isn't as bad as initially feared, but french police believe the blaze was a result of three fires that started in the building and are investigating whether they were deliberately lit. translation: we have observed that the fire started in three spots and have opened an investigation for arson with regionaljudicial police. once the fire was out, the french prime minister toured the area to see the damage for himself. thanking firefighters for their efforts. translation: i would like to express to the people of nantes the solidarity of the nation after this dramatic event that has hit the beautiful city. it is time now for an investigation under the supervision of the prosecutor. this cathedral has survived past disasters, from allied bombings in world war ii to a blaze in 1972, which destroyed the roof.

the french government has promised to help repair the damage as quickly as possible and get the cathedral back to what it was. reged ahmad, bbc news. parisians have enjoyed a real taste of summer with the opening of paris plages, where the banks of the seine look more like a seaside resort. launched in 2002 the popular summer festival brings a wealth of activity to the beach area, but this year there's been an new attraction added, covid—19 testing centres, and even on day one they were proving popular with visitors. a reminder of our top story. the number of global coronavirus cases has seen a record single—day increase. the world health organisation says nearly 260,000 new cases have been recorded in 2a hours. the russian ambassador to the uk has rejected british allegations that his country's intelligence services interfered in british politics, or tried to

steal vaccine research. that's it from me. i'm lewis vaughan—jones. this is bbc news. the number of global coronavirus cases has hit a record single day increase. the world health organization says nearly 260,000 new cases have been recorded in 2a hours. in brazil and the us, where lockdown measures have not been enforced strictly, there is no sign of the curve being flattened. the russian ambassador to the uk has rejected allegations that his country's intelligence services interfered in british politics 01’ interfered in british politics or tried to steal vaccine

research. the denial comes days before a report into allegations of wider russian interference in uk democracy is due to be published. us presidents and foreign leaders have joined the tributes to civil rights icon john lewis, who has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80. lewis was one of the ‘big six' civil rights leaders, which included martin luther king jr. a weather front which first moved scotla nd a weather front which first moved scotland and hello. a weather front which first moved into scotland and northern ireland on thursday night is still bringing some cloud and rain across parts of southeast england in the day ahead. whereas elsewhere it's a fine sunday on the way. here's a weather front which has clearly been very slowly moving south across the uk. in fact, won't clear away from southeast england until tonight. so this is how things are shaping up first thing. another warm, muggy start to the south. any rain clearing away

from wales, maybe still a bit towards parts of the midlands. certainly into east anglia and into southern england as the day starts. whereas elsewhere it's a fine and quite cool start to the day, but you get the sunshine. a few showers run in across scotland, mainly towards the north and west. but for northern ireland, northern england, wales increasingly so into the midlands, gradually so into southwest england, there'll be some sunshine. but across much of east anglia and southeast england still cloud, even at this stage of the afternoon. still some patchy rain around for some of us here too. and for the most part temperatures just into the teens. quite a change where yesterday was so very warm and humid. quite a change at old trafford compared to saturday's washout. plenty of play with the sunshine in the day ahead. as we go on through sunday evening, still a bit of rain towards essex and kent. that will finally clear away, along with that weather front at last, keeping a few showers across parts of northwest scotland, as much of the uk will be dry going into monday morning, and cooler across the board. many of us will be into single figures as monday begins. with a ridge of high pressure building in for monday and for tuesday, for that matter, giving a lot of dry weather.

not dry everywhere, because still around that ridge of high pressure there'll still be a few showers coming in, especially into scotland. but during monday there's a chance of catching a few running on through northern ireland and parts of northern england as well, whereas the bulk of england and wales will stay dry. another cool start to the day. temperatures recover in some sunny spells, but we're still mainly talking temperatures into the high teens. just a few spots getting into the low 20s. so, most staying dry again on tuesday. by wednesday, we'll see a bit of rain into parts of northern ireland, especially scotland, whereas much of england and wales, bar the chance for a shower later in the week, will be staying dry.

people given credit notes for cancelled package holidays due to the covid—19 pandemic, are being reassured by the government that they'll still be honoured — even if firms go bust. the announcement covers breaks booked by uk agents both at home and overseas disrupted between march the tenth and the end of september this year. our business correspondent, katie prescott, has more. summer holidays, a distant dream for the hundreds of thousands of people who have seen them cancelled because of the pandemic. such as jennifer and john who were supposed to travel to las vegas to marry injune. like so many others, they are still waiting for a refund. we need that money to pay for the wedding that we have rearranged. so, we're just chasing them. we keep asking them, "please, will you refund us?" but they are saying there is a queue. £6,000 which is what ours cost is not a small amount of money to anybody, to normal people like this, especially my partner has been furloughed for three months. travelers who see their holidays cancelled should get